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UN refugee agency slams Nauru centre

Adam Gartrell

The UN's refugee agency has savaged the federal government's offshore processing regime, slamming conditions on Nauru and calling for an end to the controversial no-advantage principle.

In a report released on Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says Labor's arrangements fail to meet international protection standards.

The report comes after a UNHCR legal protection team made a three-day visit to inspect the facilities in Nauru earlier in December.

It found confusion about the roles and responsibilities of Australia and Nauru and no functional or fair system for conducting refugee assessments.

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Conditions at the temporary processing facilities on the island are unsatisfactory, the team found.

"They are harsh, with little natural shelter from the heat during the day, and these conditions were aggravated by the significant noise and dust from the construction of the permanent facility," the report says.

Labor's no-advantage principle - which could see asylum seekers detained for up to five years so they do not gain an advantage over people who do not board boats - is inappropriate and inconsistent with the UN Refugee Convention, it says.

"In UNHCR's view, asylum seekers should be assured that if they are found to be refugees, the governments of Australia and Nauru will make all efforts to provide a durable solution to their plight as soon as is possible."

The team found a number of detainees suffering the effects of pre-existing trauma and torture, but health providers on Nauru had limited capacity to help them.

And the uncertainty and delays surrounding processing were likely to have a significant and detrimental impact on the mental and physical health of the asylum seekers.

Medical staff told the team that the poor conditions, coupled with a sense of injustice and abandonment, had led to widespread depression and self-harm.

As a whole, the government's offshore processing regime does not "currently meet the required protection standards", the report concludes.

The UNHCR calls for more information to be provided to asylum seekers, better facilities and more freedom of movement.

The legal framework, rules and procedures for processing should be completed as a matter of urgency, it says.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the government was committed to working constructively with the UNHCR.

"We continue to work closely with the government of Nauru regarding the full assessment of asylum claims, which will begin early in the new year," he said.

"Initial interviews have already commenced to gather biographical data and other relevant information."

Construction of the permanent facility had begun, with plans for transferees to move into new quarters in the first half of 2013, which would allow freer movement, he said.

"It should also be recognised that UNHCR has had a longstanding position of opposition to offshore processing on Nauru that goes back to the operation of a facility on Nauru under the previous government."

There are about 400 asylum seekers on Nauru, mostly from Sri Lanka but also from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.